Afghan Biographies

Azimi, Abdul Salam Prof.

Name Azimi, Abdul Salam Prof.
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth 1936
Function/Grade Supreme Court Chief Justice Stera Mahkama
History and Biodata

1. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice:
Faisal Ahmad Shinwari (2005-2006),
Prof. Abdul Salam Azimi Supreme Court Chief Justice Stera Mahkama (2007 - )
Prof. Abdul Salam Azimi Acting chief of the Supreme Court (20110125-   )

Members of the Supreme Court as 0f 20130925:

  1. Bahauddin Baha
  2. Abdul Rasheed Rashid
  3. Muhammad Alim Nasimi
  4. Mawlawi Muhammad Qasim Dost
  5. Ghulam Nabi Nawayee
  6. Zaman Ali Behsodi
  7. Muhammad Omar Babrakzai
  8. Abdul Aziz Aziz

2. Previous Functions Abdul Salam Azimi:
Legal advisor to President Hamid Karzai (2001-2004),
Supreme Court  Chief Justice Stera Mahkama, Azimi's  term had expired in 2010 (20120530) resigned 20141023

3. Biodata:
Azimi_Abdul_SalamChief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi Azeemi who was born 1936 in Nawbahar village, Farah province is an ethnic Pashtun of the Noorzai clan. In 1949 he moved to Kabul and was enrolled in a Paghman religious school, whre modern sciences were also taught by local, Egyptian and Iraqi instructors. He later was enrolled in the Sharia Faculty of Kabul University, where he was appointed as assistant professor in 1959. He went to Cairo in the year 1967 to pursue his Master’s programme at Al-Azhar University, majoring in Sharia and Law.
He completed his education in the fields of family rights and comparative criminal law. Following his return home in 1967, he resumed his job as a professor at the Sharia Faculty. Azimi stayed in Washington from 1973 to 1975 and received certificates from the Comparative Law Faculty of George Washington University. In 1978, he was appointed as advisor on legal affairs to the Ministry of Justice. He left Kabul with his family and moved to Pakistan in 1982 before immigrating to the US in 1983. He was accepted as a member of Islamic Jurisprudence Encyclopedia Association in Kuwait in 1984.
One of his important achievements in 2002-2003 was drafting a new constitution of Afghanistan. He was appointed in 2004 as senior advisor to the president on legal affairs and then as director of the Legal and Judicial Board at the Presidential Palace. In August 2006 he was elevated as Chief Justice of Supreme Court.

He has been the Chief Justice of Afghanistan and, as such, the head of the Afghan Supreme Court since May 2006. He was sworn in on August 5, 2006. The Supreme Court is composed of nine members who are appointed by the President for a period of ten years with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga. A former professor at the University of Arizona in the United States, Azimi served as legal advisor to Afghan President Hamid Karzai and assisted with writing the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan. As chief justice, Azimi replaced Faisal Ahmad Shinwari, a conservative Islamic cleric with no higher education. Azimi, in contrast, is reported to have gained a reputation as a fair-minded moderate active in upholding the rule of law and improving the country's dilapidated legal system. Chief Justice Azimi announced the establishment of another important institution, the National Anti-Corruption Tribunal, which will be designed to set up serious corruption cases throughout Afghanistan (20091118).

President Ashraf Ghani signed the resignation letter of Supreme Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi on Thursday, Oct 23, 2014. According to the Presidential Palace, Azimi submitted his resignation letter few days ago. No one has been introduced for the position yet.

Nine justices on the tribunal are appointed for 10-year terms by the president, with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the nation's legislature. The president selects one of the nine members to serve as Chief Justice. The Afghan Constitution allows for judges to be trained in either civil or Islamic law. Matters of law with no provision in the constitution or other standing laws shall be judged by the Hanafi jurisprudence. The judiciary shall apply the Shia school of law in cases dealing with personal matters of those who are of the Shia sect, where applicable.

Afghan Supreme Court Charai Seahat Hama Microyana Kabul, Afghanistan

Last Modified 2014-10-23
Established 2009-11-05